This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Furukawa, K.
Right arrow Articles by Nakajima, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Furukawa, K.
Right arrow Articles by Nakajima, T.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Furukawa, K.
Right arrow Articles by Nakajima, T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2002, p. 5304-5310, Vol. 68, No. 11
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.11.5304-5310.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Isolation and Functional Analysis of a Gene, tcsB, Encoding a Transmembrane Hybrid-Type Histidine Kinase from Aspergillus nidulans

Kentaro Furukawa,1 Yasuaki Katsuno,1 Takeshi Urao,2 Tomio Yabe,1 Toshiko Yamada-Okabe,3 Hisafumi Yamada-Okabe,4 Youhei Yamagata,1 Keietsu Abe,1* and Tasuku Nakajima1

Laboratory of Enzymology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Amamiya, Tsutsumi-dori, Sendai 981-8555,1 Biological Resources Division, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1-1 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8686,2 Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004,3 Department of Mycology, Nippon Roche Research Center, 200 Kajiwara, Kamakura, Kanagawa 247-8530, Japan4

Received 25 February 2002/ Accepted 31 July 2002

We cloned and characterized a novel Aspergillus nidulans histidine kinase gene, tcsB, encoding a membrane-type two-component signaling protein homologous to the yeast osmosensor synthetic lethal N-end rule protein 1 (SLN1), which transmits signals through the high-osmolarity glycerol response 1 (HOG1) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in yeast cells in response to environmental osmotic stimuli. From an A. nidulans cDNA library, we isolated a positive clone containing a 3,210-bp open reading frame that encoded a putative protein consisting of 1,070 amino acids. The predicted tcsB protein (TcsB) has two probable transmembrane regions in its N-terminal half and has a high degree of structural similarity to yeast Sln1p, a transmembrane hybrid-type histidine kinase. Overexpression of the tcsB cDNA suppressed the lethality of a temperature-sensitive osmosensing-defective sln1-ts yeast mutant. However, tcsB cDNAs in which the conserved phosphorylation site His552 residue or the phosphorelay site Asp989 residue had been replaced failed to complement the sln1-ts mutant. In addition, introduction of the tcsB cDNA into an sln1{Delta} sho1{Delta} yeast double mutant, which lacked two osmosensors, suppressed lethality in high-salinity media and activated the HOG1 MAPK. These results imply that TcsB functions as an osmosensor histidine kinase. We constructed an A. nidulans strain lacking the tcsB gene (tcsB{Delta}) and examined its phenotype. However, unexpectedly, the tcsB{Delta} strain did not exhibit a detectable phenotype for either hyphal development or morphology on standard or stress media. Our results suggest that A. nidulans has more complex and robust osmoregulatory systems than the yeast SLN1-HOG1 MAPK cascade.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Enzymology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Amamiya, Tsutsumi-dori, Sendai 981-8555, Japan. Phone: 81-22-717-8777. Fax: 81-22-717-8778. E-mail: kabe{at}biochem.tohoku.ac.jp.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2002, p. 5304-5310, Vol. 68, No. 11
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.11.5304-5310.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bahn, Y.-S. (2008). Master and Commander in Fungal Pathogens: the Two-Component System and the HOG Signaling Pathway. Eukaryot Cell 7: 2017-2036 [Full Text]  
  • Vargas-Perez, I., Sanchez, O., Kawasaki, L., Georgellis, D., Aguirre, J. (2007). Response Regulators SrrA and SskA Are Central Components of a Phosphorelay System Involved in Stress Signal Transduction and Asexual Sporulation in Aspergillus nidulans. Eukaryot Cell 6: 1570-1583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fujioka, T., Mizutani, O., Furukawa, K., Sato, N., Yoshimi, A., Yamagata, Y., Nakajima, T., Abe, K. (2007). MpkA-Dependent and -Independent Cell Wall Integrity Signaling in Aspergillus nidulans. Eukaryot Cell 6: 1497-1510 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yoshimi, A., Kojima, K., Takano, Y., Tanaka, C. (2005). Group III Histidine Kinase Is a Positive Regulator of Hog1-Type Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Filamentous Fungi. Eukaryot Cell 4: 1820-1828 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mizutani, O., Nojima, A., Yamamoto, M., Furukawa, K., Fujioka, T., Yamagata, Y., Abe, K., Nakajima, T. (2004). Disordered Cell Integrity Signaling Caused by Disruption of the kexB Gene in Aspergillus oryzae. Eukaryot Cell 3: 1036-1048 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Catlett, N. L., Yoder, O. C., Turgeon, B. G. (2003). Whole-Genome Analysis of Two-Component Signal Transduction Genes in Fungal Pathogens. Eukaryot Cell 2: 1151-1161 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»